Floor for refrigerator cars



Feb. 6, 1940. c. D. BoNsALL n FLOOR FOR REFRIGERATOR CAfRS Filed April 22, 1937 J2 )70217 fr Char/es E. B a/ Patented Feb. 6, 1940 l UNITED sTAreS PATENT OFFICE i Y 2,189,126 FLOOR` `FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS .Charles D. BonsalLtPittsburgh, Pa., assigner, by

mesne assignments,

to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Delaware Applieation April 2z, `1937e seria1N0Q13a299 l5 Claims.

The invention lrelates to railway refrigerator cars which are used to transport perishable comvalue thereof would be decreased, and one of` i. loaded in the car.

modities, such as fruits, vegetables, fish, candies, ilowers, etc., and more particularly to a iloor construction thereof, and has for its object to provide a very eflicient, strong and light floor construction which is `economic to manufacture and easy to build inthe car.

Formerly ice wasconned in an -icezbasket in the bunker of a railwayrefrigerator car and the lading was cooled by circulation of air around the ice and between the perishable commodities in the lading compartment, and the water from the melting ice was 4trapped and drained to the exterior of the car so Vthat it was impossible for and between the packages after they are loaded in the car. These and other methods of cool-f` i ing Where the ice is in contact with the lading f result in considerable water in the can (Cars are sometimes precooled bvputting` cakes of ice in the car and closing the doors and allowing the ice to melt.` Condensation (or sweating) also causes moisture in `a car.) If the water is allowed to contact the insulation the insulating the principal objects of this invention is to pre"- vent the water from destroying or reducing the eiliciency of the insulation. y

Another object is to protect the `floor insulation byv covering it with a plurality ofgy metallic sheets and providing means to weldthe margins of adjacent sheets together from the inside of the cai' while the metallic l sheets are in place in the car without igniting` the floor insulation,` and whereby the welded 4material may be burned off without igniting` the floor insulation when it is desired to remove a metallic sheet for replacement. Welding the sheets together provides `a waterproof joint which prevents, water in the car from coming in Contact,v with the iioor insulation. V l

Another object is to provide a beam at the meeting edges'ot adjacent sheetsl and welded material securinggthe adjacent sheets together and to the beam, which beam provides protect ing walls betweenthe line of Welding and the floor insulation to protect theinsulation from the vheat and drops of `moulten metal while the sheets are being welded together. This beam also provides a space` (or spaces) between the line of weld and the walls of the beam to protect the floor insulation from the heat of the Welding process` l l f Another object of the Welded metallic sheet Si t floor covering is to preventinltration of air from `below the car to the inside of the car. A railway car in motion causes considerable movement of air between the car and the roadbed. j i

While the invention is shown applied to the floor ofA a `railway refrigerator car it may be used in an insulated wall, such asside wall, end wall, roof or door of a railway car or automotive truck. y l l In the drawing:y .1' f Fig. 1 shows a typical application of my device tofa oor of` a `railway refrigerator car. Figs 2--5` inclusive show modified structures.` Fig. 6`is an enlarged drawing showing the joint between adjacent lloorsheets of Fig. l; i

The drawing shows `the usual parts of the car, such'as side sill l; side wall sheathing 2;' side wall lining 3;*sidewall insulation 4; side wall framing 5; upper Wooden flooring G; subflooring 'l and floor insulation 8. l

A plurality of light weight metallic sheets Ill areA laid over the floor t to protect the yfloor insulation- 3 from moisture within the `car and` also protect the upper flooring against abrasion and means' are provided `to lweld the adjacent margins of adjacent sheets togetherirom the inside of the `car without disturbing the oor insulation and without disturbing `the wooden flooring'.`

In the preferred construction the metallic sheets have depending marginal iianges I2 and i the channel member I3 `straddles the marginal iiangeslZ and the oppositewalls it of the chan-` nel member are spaced apart from the flanges l2 to provide air spaces therebetween toprotect the insulation and. the wooden flooring from the heatv of Welding. Weldedl material v1% is applied at the junction of the body of the sheets with the anges I2 to secure the sheet together. The channelmember is preferably provided with flanged parts Il engaging and supporting the body'portion of the metallic sheets.

The upper wooden flooring 6 `may or may not be used; When such woodenl flooring is used the sheets may be relatively light `material and theI channel members i8 may :be shallow and let into the wooden iiooring, as shown in Fig. 3. When the wooden ooring is not used the metallic sheetsI may be of relatively heavy material and the channel members may be positioned closer together, and deeper, as shown in Fig. l. Fig. 3 shows the welded material also securing the flanges I9 to the channel vmember i8.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2 the channel 20 member straddles and snugly .ts the flanges 2l of the metallic sheets so as to hold them in place and the channel members are provided with outwardly flared opposite walls 22 to provide air spaces 23 between these walls v 22 and the welded material 24.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the chan nel member 36 has converging side walls 3| which t into a fan tail groove in the wooden iiooring 6 and held in position thereby.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5 a hollow member 35 is used having a `iiat side formed with an inwardly projecting groove 3lI and both of the sheets 38-*39 engage'a'nd are supported by the flat portions lill-4l of thehollow mem ber 35 and each sheet has a marginal ange 43 projecting into the groove. Welded material 44 secures the iianges to a portion of the hollow member and the welded material also preferably securesthe flanges together. Ther marginal iianges L33 of the sheets are preferably spaced apart from the sides 45 of the groove to provide spaces 41 between the side 46 and the welded material 44.

In the form shown in Fig. 5 the hollow member is formed from `a metallic plate formed with an inwardly projecting corrugation with flat portions on opposite sides thereof. The means of connecting the metallic sheets together (and preferably also to the hollow member) are prefu erably within the groove so as to provide a smooth upper surface of the iloor.

The accompanying dra ving illustrates the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact details of construction shownand described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim: i

1. A car wall comprising two metallic sheets, insulation on one side of said sheets and means to weld said sheets together from the other side of the sheets without igniting the insulation, said means comprising a hollow member imbedded in the insulation having 'a flat .side with a groove therein, each of said sheets engaging said iiat side and having a marginal flange projecting into said groove and welded material securing said flanges to the member within the groove.

2. A car wall comprising two metallic sheets, insulation on one side of said sheets and means to weld said sheets together from the other side of the sheets without igniting ythe insulation, said means comprising a hollow member imbedded in the insulation having a flat side with a groove therein, each of saidsheets engaging said at side and having a marginal iiange projecting into said groove and welded material securing said flanges together and to the member within the groove.

3. A car wall comprising two metallic sheets, insulation on one side of said sheets and means to weld said sheets together from the other side of the sheetsy without igniting the insulation, said means comprising a hollow-member im- 4. A car wall comprising two metallic sheets,

insulation on one side of said sheets and means to weld said sheets together from the other side of the sheets without igniting the insulation, said means 4comprising a hollow member imbedded in the insulationformed from a metallic plate and having a flat side formed with f an inwardly projecting corrugation, each of said sheets engaging said ilat side and having a marginal flange projecting into said corrugation and welded material securing said flanges to the corrugation.

5. A car wall comprising two metallic sheets having' adjacent marginal contacting flanges, insulation on the iiange side of the sheets, and means to secure said sheets together from the opposite side of the sheets from the insulation, said means comprising a channel memberstraddling said sheet flanges and provided with opposite walls spaced apart from said sheet ilanges to provide air spaces therebetween, and welded material securing said flanges together and to said channel member.

6. A floor for a refrigerator car comprising a wooden ilooring, insulation below the wooden ilooring, a channel member let into said ooring, two metallic sheets resting upon said lflooring and having adjacent marginal -iianges positioned within said channel member, and welded material securing said flanges together and to said channel member, whereby the member and the ooring protect the insulation from the heat of the welding process.

7. A iloor for a refrigerator car comprising a wooden flooring, insulation below the wooden ilooring, a Vchannel member let into said hooi-r ing, two metallic sheets resting upon said flooring and having adjacent marginal flanges positioned within said channel member and spaced horizontally from the walls of the channel member to provide spacesI therebetween, and welded material securingr said flanges together, whereby the member and the ooring protect the insulation from the heat oi the welding process.

8. A floor for a refrigerator car comprising a wooden flooring, insulation below the wooden flooring, a channel member having converging sidewalls fitting into a fan tail groove in said ooring, two metallic sheets resting upon said ilooring and having adjacent converging man ginal flanges positioned within said channel member, and welded material securing said flanges together, whereby the member and the ilooring protect the insulation from the heat of the welding process.

9. A car wall comprising two metallic sheets havingr adjacent marginal i'ianges, insulation on the ange side of the sheets, said sheets being welded tcgetherrfrom the opposite side, and means to protect said insulation from the heat of welding, said means comprising a channel member straddling said iianges and provided with opposite walls spaced apart from said flanges to provide airspaces therebetween, said walls engaging the body portions of said sheets.

10. A car wall comprising two metallic sheets having adjacent marginal flanges,` insulation on the flange side of the sheets, said sheets being welded together from the opposite side, means to protect said insulation from the heat of welding, said meansI comprising a channel member straddling said flanges and provided with opposite walls spaced apart from' said flanges to provide air spaces therebetween, and means to secure said sheets to said member.

11. A floor for a refrigerator car comprising a wooden flooring, insulation below said flooring, achannel member let into said flooring, two metallic sheets resting uponsaid flooring `and having adjacent marginal iianges positioned within said channel member and spaced horizontally from the walls of the y'channel member to provide spaces therebetween, `and welded material at the juncture of the sheets and flanges to secure the sheets together whereby the member and the wooden flooring protect theinsulation from the heat of the welding process.

12. A car wall comprising two metallic sheets having adjacentmarginal anges, insulation on the flange side of the sheets near said flanges,

and means to secure vsaid sheets together from the opposite side of the sheets from the insulation without `igniting said insulation, said means comprising a channel member straddling said sheet flanges and provided with opposite walls spaced apart from said sheet iianges to provide air spaces therebetween, said `Walls engaging the body portions of the wall sheets and Welded material applied at the juncture of the sheets and the flanges to secure the sheets together.

13. A car wall comprising two metallic sheets having adjacent marginal flanges, insulation on the ange side of the sheets near said flanges, and means to secure said sheets together from the opposite side of the sheets from the insulation Without igniting said insulation, said means comprising a channel member straddling said sheet ilanges and provided with opposite walls spaced apart from said sheet anges to provided with anged parts engaging the body portions of the wall sheets and welded material applied at the juncture of the sheets and the flanges to secure the sheets together;

14.` A car wall comprising two metallic sheets having adjacent marginal iianges, insulation on `the ange side of the sheets near said anges,

and means to secure said sheets together from the opposite side of the sheets from the insulation without igniting said insulation, said means comprising a channel member imbedded in the insulation and straddling and snugly fitting said anges and provided with outwardly anged opposite walls spaced apart from said sheet flanges to provide'air spaces therebetween,

Asaid walls engaging the body portions of the wall sheets and welded material applied at the juncture of the sheets and the flanges to` secure Athe sheets together.

kprovide air spaces therebetween, said walls being 15. A car wall comprising two `metallic sheets 

